


Hurt Makes it Beautiful

by brodylover



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Blood Drinking, Demon Blood, Demonic Possession, Drug Addiction, Hellhounds, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-09
Updated: 2012-12-09
Packaged: 2017-11-20 16:10:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/587249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brodylover/pseuds/brodylover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam gets possessed, even with the protective tattoo and Dean has to go get him without a plan, before he drinks too much demon blood and says yes to Lucifer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hurt Makes it Beautiful

I had to get Sam, I mean, I had to. He's my little brother, I'd do, I have done everything I could for him and maybe, maybe I shouldn't. I made a lot of mistakes. With him gone I had to get to him, get to him before something really bad happened, and I did it too fast. I didn't think it through. I should have slowed down, I should have been better.   
Sam had gone missing in the middle of the night. He'd done that before, sure, but usually it was after a fight and we were okay, we were finally okay with each other, and otherwise he'd leave me a note or something, tell me where he was going. He left nothing. I knew there was something wrong. I could feel it in my gut. This wasn't like Sam at all.   
He hadn't been drinking demon blood. I knew that. We had detoxed him, made him go cold turkey and that was wrong but I think it helped. He hasn't had any sense. I could tell. He didn't have the jitters any more, no influx of power, hell, he wasn't using his powers at all anymore. That made me glad but the fact that he was missing? I assumed the worst. I thought he was out getting a hit.   
He'd left his GPS on his phone though so that was good at least. He wasn't too far off either, holed up in a storage complex, you know, the ones with the giant crates? It was just by where Rufus lived and it wasn't long until I got a phone call from him too.  
"Dean?" he sounded as worried as I was.  
"Yeah?"  
"I just saw your brother, drive right past here in a Honda civic, had two demons in the back seat. Thought it might just be a hunt thing, but his eyes. Dean, his eyes were black."  
"He's possessed?"  
"Looks like it. I woulda shot him on the spot but, oh, I don't want you coming after me."  
"Thanks Rufus. I'll come get him."  
I did too.   
There was no way I would have been able to get there fast enough in my car; I would have needed divine intervention. I called Cas up and he was beside me in the motel room spookily fast. His movements were jerky and quick, like he could feel my agitation.  
"Your brother?" he stared at me like he always does and I swallowed hard.  
"Possessed. He's over by Rufus's place. Can you take me there?"  
"That would be simple, but what do you intend to do?"  
"I'm going to get Sam back! I don't, I don't even know how Sam got possessed! I mean, we're sealed!" I pointed at my tattoo and Cas nodded.  
"Tattoos are not as permanent as one would guess. If your brother had been damaged recently a scar could have covered a section of the mark and given the demon its opening."  
"Great!" I flung my arms in the air. It was a bit childish, but I doubt Cas would have caught onto that. Then I thought of something, "Cas. Can you kill a demon without killing the host?"  
Cas looked away from me, finally, "It is possible. It takes a lot of concentration and it will take a lot of my Grace to do. I can't be distracted."  
"Then I'll make sure nothing distracts you."  
"Dean. When I expel demons I flood the body with Grace, crushing everything inside. It will be very difficult to do it in an alternate way and your brother may not survive the process."  
"At least we'd have it as an option."  
I grabbed Ruby's knife, a shotgun packed with rock salt, a flask of Holy water, and wrote a note for housekeeping. What a weird motel, not having 'do not disturb' signs. I put my note on the door and pocketed the sharpie, turning back to Cas. He took my shoulder and suddenly we were at the place I had described.   
It was arid and dry, grass barely poking out of the dirt ground between the crates. Cas and I were walking fast and I could feel eyes on me. This was more than a demon possession, they wanted Sam for something. They needed him. I could hear barking in the distance and, well, I'm fine with dogs, but there was a chill going down my spine and my heartbeat was pounding in my ears. Guard dogs, but they were a long ways off, they weren't coming for us.  
"There." Cas pointed at the office for the place across the lot. It wouldn't have made any sense for them to do whatever they were doing in one of the crates so, yeah, that's where I would have guessed Sam would be as well.  
The nerd's hand was on my back, pushing me forward and I could hear the dogs getting closer. I froze. Those weren't dogs. They were hellhounds. There were quite a lot of them too.   
"I'll hold them off." Cas promised and I could see that he had drawn his angel blade already, "You go."  
"Can you even see them?" my voice cracked. Hellhounds! Really? Sam had to be taken somewhere with Hellhounds? Or maybe they'd been brought to keep anyone from coming for him.  
"Only a demon can see hellhounds." Cas pushed me, forcing my legs to move and I was heading towards the warehouse.   
I looked over my shoulder as I left him there, heading towards the office, almost at a run. The hellhounds were close and the angel, my friend, was turning, trying to keep so he was facing an enemy he couldn't even see. When I got to the door he had started to swing wildly, and, while he could not see his opponent, I could see how good of a fighter he really was and how much he held back when we fought alongside one another, letting my brother and I feel useful.   
All of those layers were shredded to ribbons and the blood in his arm began to flow as I opened the door.  
"Hi Dean." The demon smiled at me and I had to remember that it was the demon, not Sam. I could still hear Cas outside and I thought maybe I heard him scream a few times between the howls of Hellhounds. I had to stay focused though, had to keep my attention on what was in front of me.  
Sam was sitting on the owner's desk, smiling and looking very much like Sam, but a Sam from a different, happier time. Behind him were two demons, probably the two that Rufus had seen him with, hung upside down with their throats slit. They had been bled dry. So Sam had been drinking demon blood after all.  
"What is this?" I waved my arm at the bodies.  
"Oh, I had to get your brother ready. He is to say yes to Lucifer but his body… our boss would burn through it quick as it is."  
"And drinking demon blood will get it ready?"  
"Yes. He's only had two demons so far, he's going to need quite a bit more, but then I heard you were here and I thought I'd say hi."  
"That's nice, really, but you should really get the fuck out of my brother."  
"Or what?" not Sam stood and I had always hated how he towered over me but now he seemed immense. "You're going to exorcise me?"  
He waved his arm and I flew back, hitting the wall of the office. He wasn't just holding me there, he was flinging me, and it hurt. I gritted my teeth as my bones groaned and I fell to the ground. I grabbed the gun before me and fired, not really looking where I was aiming. Since I was on the ground I got him in the shin and he howled as he clutched it, giving me enough time to get to my feet. I could feel my back swelling, one huge bruise.   
I fired off another shot, getting him right in the chest and I didn't hesitate as he clutched the wound, falling back onto the table. I couldn't allow him a moment. This was my brother though; I didn't want to come all fists and anger that would do nothing. The demon would just laugh and Sam would be a mess.   
I threw my flask of holy water onto his face and he screamed, clawing at the water. I was basically straddling his hips, checking my pockets for anything useful as I recited the exorcism. He thrashed a bit and laughed and taunted and his hands were searching. He was looking for something. I saw it out of the corner of my eye. There was a knife on the edge of the table. I knew what he was doing. He was going to stab Sam. I couldn't complete the exorcism if that meant Sam would die. Dammit! These fuckers really knew us too well.   
My fingers met the pen I had grabbed and I knew what to do. It was faster than an exorcism anyway. I ripped Sam's shirt open and yes, there was a scar over a bit of the tattoo. I drew over it, blackening his skin and completely the symbol. The demon screamed and I thought it would rush out of my brother as black smoke, trying to save itself but instead it slinked out of every orifice, black sand. It was completely dead.   
Sam was panting. I was panting. Than he was on the ground, retching, throwing up as much of that poison that had been forced down his throat as he could. That was good; at least he didn't want that shit in him. I rubbed his back, the same way I had when he was little.  
There was shouting coming from outside. It was a woman's voice. When had the fighting out there stopped? I grabbed Sam and we walked out, slow, expecting some kind of trap.   
The trap was made of fire and it had already been set around Cas. He was in pieces, literally, his arm attached by sinew and his leg not attached at all. He was covered in blood and most of his skin was shredded, his clothing less than rags around him. He was conscious though, panting, his blue eyes on us as we approached. He was lying in a ring of fire, holy fire, and that was surrounded by demons, probably the ones that Sam was supposed to have drank.  
"Hi there Dean." The brunette woman walked towards. Kinda cute if she wasn't a monster. I smiled at her. "Looks like you found us. What now?"  
"Now you get out of here before I kill you all."  
She laughed at that and the other demons joined her, "What? Kill us? You, a single tiny knife, and a shotgun with what, 0 shells? Sorry, but I doubt it."  
"Don't forget." Sam raised a hand, "There's me."  
She actually seemed afraid at that and she stepped back, almost stepping into the ring of Holy Fire. He closed his eyes and I couldn't stop staring at him. He was terrifying like this. He was so strong. So much stronger than I could ever be and that power was so strong, so primitive. All of the demons fell to the ground at once, the black smoke tumbling from their mouths to the ground, burning the earth around them.  
I tore my eyes from him and looked to Cas. He looked as afraid as he possibly could, seeing what Sam had become.   
"I'm sorry." Sam breathed, "I didn't have a choice."  
Cas closed his eyes. I rushed as close to his side as I could, afraid he might actually be dying. Why wasn't he healing up?   
"Cas, you need to heal up." I wouldn't admit it, but my voice was wobbling. I should have thought this through. It was just luck that had made any of this work. I couldn't have Cas die on me. Not for what I had done, been so careless. "You need to use your Grace. Be okay."  
He opened his mouth, wanting to reply to me but all that came out was a gushing of blood.   
I turned to Sam, who was helping the survivors to their feet, "We need to do something!"  
"There's a water tank in the office." He nodded to me.  
I rushed past him, back to the little building. My muscles were screaming, so tight from being thrown about, but I ignored it. I grabbed the tank and flipped it, trying not to lose too much of the water and raced back out, dousing as mush of the fire as I could. It barely went down, but it left a small gap in the circle. I kicked some dirt over it, keeping it from relighting before going to Cas's side. He was breathing, but it was light. It had to be Grace keeping him alive; he had lost too much blood for a human to have survived. He'd lost more blood than a human possibly had and he wasn't done bleeding. I collected his pieces as best as I could before lifting them up in my arms. He groaned at the pain of it but nothing more, no screaming in agony. He was an angel after all, probably had the highest pain threshold of anything.   
Sam was on his phone, talking to the police. I nodded to him and he nodded back, pointing to where he'd parked his stolen car. I carried Cas to it and placed him in the back seat before taking off my jacket and over shirt, putting them over him like a blanket.  
"I'm sorry Cas." I tried to keep my voice from cracking as I looked down at him. His eyes were open, but he couldn't bring them to meet mine, "I'm taking you home. I'll take care of you. You'll be okay."  
I shouldn't have been so rushed. I should have thought things through. I should never have left Cas alone against all of those hellhounds. I shouldn't have been so fucking scared of them. Cas didn't need to be in such bad shape.  
I got into the driver's seat and drove back for Sam. With sirens in the distance he climbed into the passenger's seat. He didn't even look back at Cas. He probably couldn't, just as I couldn't take my eyes off of him in the rear view mirror.   
"So get this." He explained, "Shelly, the girl who'd been possessed, says Cas healed himself three times while fighting the hellhounds. He's used too much of his Grace to heal fully."  
I didn't respond to that. How could I? It just made everything worse. He had gone through this much pain three times before while I barely fought with a demon, suffered one large bruise. He'd been ripped to pieces.  
"Dean. I'm sorry."  
"About what?"  
"I drank demon blood again. I caused all of this."  
"Well, did you scar yourself?"  
"No."  
"Then you have nothing to apologize for."  
We drove in silence for a while and I tried to keep my eyes on the road but they kept moving back to the angel in the backseat. He was wheezing, not quite able to breathe around the blood in his throat. What did he do? What did he do to deserve this? He was my friend, that was all, this is what happens to our friends.   
"Do I have to go back in the panic room?" Sam asked.  
"Do you need to?"  
Sam looked away and I knew the answer was yes.


End file.
